This invention relates to a liquid dispenser intended particularly for dispensing viscous liquids such as shampoos and liquid soaps. The invention is not however restricted to use with these liquids The dispenser could also be used to dispense food products such as ketchup or salad cream. Furthermore, the dispenser could also be used to dispense less viscous liquids including water.
Shampoo and liquid soap containers in the form of bottles which stand upright either require an expensive pump to dispense the contents, or have to be held upside down until the viscous liquid has flowed downwards far enough to reach the opening through which it can flow out or be xe2x80x9csqueezed outxe2x80x9d. Other dispensers of the xe2x80x9csqueeze to usexe2x80x9d type such as shower gel dispensers are known which have a hook by which they can be suspended from a suitable fixed point. However suitable fixed points are not always available or easily accessible, for example to children.
According to the invention, there is provided a liquid dispenser comprising a reservoir for the liquid to be dispensed, a dispensing closure for the reservoir which is normally closed but which opens to dispense liquid when the reservoir is squeezed, and suction cups associated with the reservoir to allow the reservoir to be releasably attached to a vertical surface.
The dispenser preferably includes a housing within which the reservoir can be contained, and the housing is provided with the suction cups.
In a preferred form, the housing has a decorative shape, and in a particularly preferred form, the housing takes the shape of an animal. The dispenser can be arranged so that liquid is dispensed through the mouth of the animal shape.
The dispenser of the invention can thus be stuck at any position on the wall of a shower enclosure, or on the side of a bath, so that when showering or bathing, the dispenser and its contents of shampoo or soap are immediately accessible. To dispense liquid, the dispenser will normally be pulled off the wall, squeezed to dispense the required quantity of liquid, and then pressed against the wall again to reattach it until it is next required.
It will be apparent therefore that the suction cups are not intended to permanently attach the dispenser to a surface; rather the strength of attachment should be sufficient to hold the dispenser to the surface for the duration of showering or bathing whilst allowing it to be easily detached when liquid is to be dispensed.
The housing is preferably constructed to allow the reservoir to be refilled with liquid. To this end, the housing may be in two pieces which can be for example snap-fitted or screwed together. When the two pieces are separated, a refilling opening of the reservoir can be exposed. The reservoir may be separate from the housing so that it can be inserted in or extracted from a cavity within the housing. The reservoir can then be blow-moulded, for example from polyethylene. Alternatively, the reservoir may be formed directly within the housing itself.
The refilling opening of the reservoir can be normally closed by a cap which carried the dispensing closure. The closure can be of the type known as a xe2x80x9cZelxe2x80x9d valve which has a slit membrane providing the closure, with the membrane being distended to open the slit when internal pressure is applied within the reservoir.
There are preferably two or three suction cups. The cups may be in line or grouped in a staggered array, the suction cups may be associated with a flexible, angled fin which is arranged to make contact at an angle with a surface on which the dispenser has been stuck, and to resist movement of the dispenser along the surface in a direction at right angles to the fin. The fin will normally be positioned between the suction cups and the dispenser mouth so that when the dispenser is stuck on a wall, the f in resists any tendency for the dispenser to slide down the wall.
The body is preferably moulded from an elastomeric plastics material such as xe2x80x9cEvoprenexe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9cBergaflexxe2x80x9d. The suction cups are preferably integrally moulded with the body, and may be of the same material or of a different material. If they are of a different material (optimised to give the desired suction properties) they may be preformed, either individually or as a unit incorporating a number of cups, and placed in the mould for the body, so that the body material is moulded around the cups.
In a preferred embodiment, the body is generally elongate, with the suction cups in line. The body may then have laterally extending limbs, designed as legs or arms of the animal shape, which help to ensure that the dispenser is correctly positioned against a surface to enable the suction cups to stick.